Blue planet, green ideas | They drive the circular economy

Increasingly reluctant to throw away the tons of residues, scraps and other surpluses generated by their production, companies are looking for outlets. But how to find takers for these materials? Circular economy advisors act as matchmakers and facilitators.

(Bécancour) “What we are looking for is a concentrate of beer flavor to develop a cheddar and, possibly, a raclette and a poutine sauce,” explains Yan Jodoin, director of operations at Fromagerie Victoria.

“If there is a cheese with our beer, we will be proud. It’s a local company, it can make for a great partnership: we would join forces to market it, it’s always a win-win situation for both companies,” agrees Émile Sauvé, brewer and director of Ô quai des brasseurs, at Becancour.

Behind them loom huge vats whose contents will be transferred to barrels and cans. But there are always incomplete containers, the beer of which is good to drink, but impossible to sell at retail. Giving it to employees is not enough to sell it all, sometimes you have to throw it away. “It hurts my heart,” laments the brewer.

speed dating sustainable development

MM. Sauvé and Jodoin met at the end of November at a workshop organized by the Corporation for Sustainable Development (CDD) for the Centre-du-Québec agri-food sector, an activity that resembled speed datingwhere entrepreneurs announced what they were looking for and asking for.

For Fromagerie Victoria to be able to use surplus beer, a way must be found to reduce it.

“We would like to have an ingredient that is easy to work with,” summarizes Mr. Jodoin. Plant equipment could perhaps allow “the product to be good without adding a day of production”, suggests the brewer.

David Verville and Myriam Pilon, circular economy advisors at the CDD, listen to them attentively. Their role is in particular to “bring out the information, explore where it could get stuck”, explains Mr. Verville.

If none of the partners has the required technology, “we can see in our network which research center could develop it or do it as a subcontractor”, illustrates Mr.^me Pestle.

Collect already squeezed lemons

The workshop they led in November targeted more than 90 potential links between 34 companies. Fromagerie Victoria, for example, was also a supplier of whey (the liquid left over after cheese making) and transport (in its trucks that return empty after deliveries to the chain’s restaurants). Mr. Sauvé, on the other hand, was looking for fruit for a distillery which he also co-owns. He met a producer of piri-piri sauce who offered lemons already squeezed. “He’s taken the juice out, but it’s still full of pulp and flavor,” he enthuses. The brewer also had a lot of requests for his draff (cereal residue after brewing).

“Companies come to me more often saying, ‘I want to do something meaningful, something for the planet’,” says Mr. Verville, who has been working in the circular economy for 10 years.

This is also what attracted M^me Pilon, after 15 years in commercial real estate.

Brokers have to work with all kinds of residuals. Last year, it was sfr, a marketing agency in Sainte-Perpétue, which was looking for scraps for its products made from recycled materials. They found some in Plessisville, at Boisdaction, a cabinetmaker who had remains of Corian, a material intended for the manufacture of counters. Using these scraps rather than virgin material has already diverted 600 kg of waste from landfill, avoided the emission of 524 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (eq. CO₂), and saved more than $7,000, CSD calculated.

Nine synergies achieved

In all, nine synergies have been achieved in the last year and a half thanks to the CDD, a non-profit organization (NPO) funded by Recyc-Québec and regional partners. The companies involved saved $42,000 and avoided the emission of 14,000 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent. And the CDD is just one of the 23 regional organizations that are members of the Synergie Québec community, created by the Center for Technology Transfer in Industrial Ecology (CTTEI).

“Companies no longer want to waste, it hurts their hearts. I have seen some who kept boxes for months in their warehouse,” says Jennifer Pinna, circular economy advisor at the CTTEI.

“They’re going to go the extra mile to find innovative solutions so they don’t throw things away, whereas before it was just, ‘Put it out in a container!’ »